My Cat Dreams of a Medieval Christmas Feast - featuring Russian Bladder Pipes & Bulgarian Bagpipes

During a long winter’s nap, my cat dreams that she goes inside a snow globe and travels back in time with me to Medieval Europe. We have fun, but get cold and hungry, so I play carols on my bagpipes to charm our way into a manor house, where we both enjoy a Christmas feast! The main instrument I play here is a lovely set of bladder pipes, made in Russia by Alexander Khudolev. Bladder pipes are a unique type of bagpipe that often accompanied hymns in churches during the Middle Ages. Later it became a common instrument for beggars and street musicians in various parts of Europe. I also play accompaniment on penny whistle, Irish bouzouki, tambourine, doumbek and a set of Kaba Gaida, the traditional bagpipes of shepherds in the Rhodope Mountains of Bulgaria, made for me by Zdravko Beshendjiev.